In a major trade action announced Thursday, the United States has implemented a 12.5 percent additional tariff on nearly all exports from the South American nation of Guyana, triggering an immediate pushback from Guyanese officials who deny any systemic forced labor in the country’s supply chains.
The new tariff measure, announced by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, places Guyana among 60 trading partners facing higher tariffs for what Washington describes as a “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.” The punitive step caps years of investigation by the USTR, a process that included two rounds of public hearings, more than 2,100 public submissions from stakeholders, and direct diplomatic engagement with affected nations to address longstanding U.S. concerns about forced labor in global supply chains.
In an official statement following the announcement, Ambassador Greer emphasized that decades of informal diplomatic pressure had failed to eliminate forced labor from cross-border supply chains. “The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” Greer said. He framed the new tariffs as a corrective measure that addresses both a widespread human rights abuse and a market-distorting trade practice, with the ultimate goal of improving working conditions for laborers worldwide. Greer also noted that he welcomed progress from trading partners that have already adopted forced labor import prohibitions, and looks forward to verifying their effective enforcement going forward.
USTR’s multi-month review process included the analysis of more than 1,600 written public comments on the proposed tariff plan, followed by three days of in-person public hearings from July 7 to 9, where more than 100 witnesses delivered testimony and answered questions from agency officials.
But Guyanese officials have pushed back strongly against the U.S. action, rejecting the premise that Guyana tolerates forced labor in its domestic production or trade. Sharon Roopchand-Edwards, Permanent Secretary of Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a USTR public hearing earlier this year that any allegations of forced labor must be resolved through lawful, evidence-based investigations, rather than broad punitive tariffs.
“To date, the Government of Guyana is not aware of evidence demonstrating that goods produced through forced labour are being manufactured in, imported into, or exported from Guyana,” Roopchand-Edwards told the hearing. She emphasized that Guyana shares the U.S. commitment to protecting core labor rights and eradicating forced labor globally, pointing to a robust domestic legal and institutional framework already in place to prevent the practice.
Backing up the government’s position with domestic enforcement data, Roopchand-Edwards noted that as of June 2026, Guyana’s Ministry of Labour had completed more than 2,000 targeted inspections across all major economic sectors, and had not found any substantiated evidence of systemic forced labor. The Guyana Revenue Authority has also not detected any forced labor-produced goods entering the country through imports, she added.
Under existing Guyanese law, Roopchand-Edwards explained, customs authorities already have the legal authority to block imports of goods confirmed to be produced by forced labor. The country’s constitution and national legislation, including the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, explicitly ban forced labor, and Guyana is also bound by its obligations under International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 29 and 105, which globally prohibit forced and compulsory labor.
Guyana has formally requested that the U.S. reverse the new tariff penalties, and offered full cooperation on any specific, verified cases of forced labor that U.S. authorities can present. Roopchand-Edwards added that Guyana would welcome capacity-building support, information sharing, and exchanges of best practices from the U.S. to strengthen the country’s existing detection and enforcement mechanisms.
She also noted the deep existing economic ties between the two nations: U.S. exports to Guyana have grown steadily over the past two decades, and American firms hold a major market position across Guyana’s economy, most notably in the fast-growing energy sector. “These facts demonstrate that U.S. commerce is neither restricted nor burdened in the Guyanese market,” she said, adding that the two countries are already in active discussions to finalize a reciprocal trade agreement that covers labor standards, including protocols for forced labor-produced goods. Roopchand-Edwards urged U.S. officials to reconsider the tariff penalties before they enter into force.